


Seven Hours Before Punishment

by Ethyl_Wave, Katadenza



Category: Evillious Chronicles, Vocaloid
Genre: Adam Moonlit/Eve Moonlit (background), Alcohol, Despair Event Horizon, Discord Plays Evillious, Gen, Imminent Apocalypse, Master of the Hellish Yard, Murder, Not Canon Compliant - OSS Novels, Nothing in life matters~!, Puzzles, Teamwork, Temporary Character Death, The Clocktower's security system is a convoluted mess of stupid, Theater Arc, allusions to world war II, headcanon dumping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-08-19 00:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethyl_Wave/pseuds/Ethyl_Wave, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katadenza/pseuds/Katadenza
Summary: "You are in the BELFRY of the EVIL'S THEATER CLOCKTOWER. You have SEVEN HOURS before the end.""The night air is warmer than you’re used to, with the forest gone. Only a few hours left. Better make them hours worth living."Gammon and Gear try to have a drinking party in the short time they have left before the world ends. It's harder than it looks.An archive of a finished text-game collaboration with player-submitted commands.





	1. 12/29/18

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Adam's Amazing Text Adventure](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748043) by [Katadenza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katadenza/pseuds/Katadenza). 

> wow i can't believe it's been 5 years since the muzzle of nemesis album came out! or it will be, in a week. here's a little thing kat and i did together, we tried our best not to procrastinate and mostly succeeded (mostly).  
anyway it was a lot of fun! stick around for a while we have the rest all queued up, cheers guys
> 
> -Ethyl
> 
> Hokay so the story behind this is that last year, kinda stuck on our megaprojects productivity-wise, Ethyl (who had been wanting to do a collab text game for while) came up with the idea of having us do a game jam-like exercise: plan a text game within 24 hours and run it immediately after. We thought it would be a one session thing, but in true EC project fashion it ended up a lot longer than we thought, and now we have a nice countdown for you guys.  
I agree with Ethyl, it _was_ a lot of fun.  
Gammon's side was written by Ethyl, Gear's side was written by me.  
Updates will be daily, so enjoy!
> 
> -Kat

“I’m in position, over.”

“You don’t need to say ‘over’ at this distance, reception is perfect.“

“I’M USED TO IT, OVER.”

“Uh… sure. Anyway, you’re going to have to wait a little for the spotlight.”

“Hm? What's the problem?“

“The twins.”

“They're-- what-- _why are they up there._”

“To torment me for my numerous sins. What else? But don’t worry about it. Do your part and I’ll do mine.“

You are in the BELFRY of the EVIL'S THEATER CLOCKTOWER. You have SEVEN HOURS before the end.

The night air is warmer than you’re used to, with the forest gone. Only a few hours left. Better make them hours worth living.

>backflip

You are not that acrobatic, and the last thing you need is another excuse for the twins to laugh at you.

>squawk like an imbecile and shit on your desk

You're going to drink on that table!

>watch padoru padoru 1 hour for 7 hours on loop

There's nothing to watch except the bells.

>backflip

You'll be heard! ...Probably. You don't want to risk it.

>squawk like an imbecile and shit on your desk

You don't have a desk.

>watch padoru padoru 1 hour for 7 hours on loop

You're... supposed to be watching for the moment you can make your move.

That moment could very well be now, but...

>i

You have:

-Back door key

-A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion

>i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

>inspect self

> who are you, anyway

>aquire name

>who am i

Your name is GEAR, once ADAM MOONLIT, and the world is about to end. You can FEEL it in the back of your skull, a RELENTLESS PRESSURE that weighs you down as the TICKING of the clocktower rings louder and LOUDER in your ears.

You have NO IDEA where Eve is. You have reluctantly come to the conclusion that, given how much time you have left, YOU NEVER WILL.

You are now planning on commemorating the world’s end with BRAIN-DISSOLVING AMOUNTS OF ALCOHOL, which you unfortunately DO NOT HAVE. That’s Gammon’s job.

>what about a greentooth onion

>what do you have against green teeth

You have never questioned Magic Kingdom Leviantan branding and at this point, almost a thousand years into the future, you're too afraid to ask.

>inspect self

>who am i

Your name is Gammon Octo, current Gardener of this theatre, former Tasan President, among other titles you've collected, and you’ve decided to gamble your last few hours alive on the possibility of booze.

>what about a greentooth onion

>what do you have against green teeth

You didn't name the thing and you don't care, honestly.

>use the bluetooth onion

>GEAR: sob

You sob into the onion, which is currently just a VERY AMAZING GREEN ONION, only PAINTED BLUE and TIED TO YOUR HEAD, and then you realize that Gammon can hear you breaking down.

You hope he doesn't notice.

>acquire alcohol

Gammon is doing that. You just have to help him.

>use alcohol

You do not have that item yet.

>leekspin you coward

You'll get dizzy that way.

>use the bluetooth onion

"....Hey, hold on for a bit, okay? When we get the booze we're both going to drown our sorrows and it'll be great."

You... hope that was reassuring.

>remove lack of alcohol

Haha you wish.

>GEAR: THE VERY AMAZING GREEN ONION!!!!

You can't get the jingle out of your head.

**EVERY BIT OF IT IS VERY VERY AMAZING~**

Geez, how did you manage to retain that for a thousand years…?

>GEAR: approach Gammon and ask if he needs help

You try to pretend you aren't going through an emotional breakdown.

"Do you... need help?" you ask, in an effort to say something, anything, so he can forget.

Then you realize that you still have to turn off the spotlight.

Your words are not on your side today.

>leekspin you coward

N... no. You need that. You don't know how it works and you are _not_ going to break it.

>acquire alcohol

>use alcohol

>remove lack of alcohol

That's what you're here to do!

You're pressed against the wall, facing the graveyard. Your goal, the pavillion-- and the alcohol within-- is just ahead. There are voices behind you, where the door would be-- not ideal, but the corner should hide you from sight, and it's better than not knowing where the Master is.

> GEAR: Pose like one of those Lucifenian girls

You would, but you hear giggling in the corner.

You hope the twins don't have access to a camera.

>become a drunken master

YOU DON’T HAVE ALCOHOL YET.

>become a drunken master

Soon.

>gear: help gammon acquire ahcolrold

Hey, you're not going for anything fancy here. Just some regular beer.

>god you're hungry

Hunger is irrelevant. All you just want is booze.

>look at bluetooth spring onion

You can, out of the corner of your eye. It looks nice and blue and totally not a bad paint job.

>god you're hungry

>look at bluetooth spring onion

You _need_ that onion.

Speaking of which. "Not right now," you say-- bold of you when you haven't worked up the nerve to go get the booze yet-- "but how's the spotlight going?"

>gear: turn off sporlightd

>spotlugtj

>spotught

>sptikught

Turn off what?

>keyboard smash

You have no keyboard to smash.

>fancy beer

You would fancy some beer, yes.

> build a distillery or something

Out of what, tears and the broken pieces of your heart?

...

That was a bit too dramatic, even for you.

>GEAR: Every paint job is a good paint job

That's the spirit!

>spotlugtj

>spotught

>sptikught

>keyboard smash

Your thoughts race. What if it goes wrong, what if you die painfully a few hours early...

>fancy beer

> build a distillery or something

Calm down. All you need is the beer. Nice cold beer... Or any other alcoholic drink, even if the Master’s extreme tastes kill you an hour early--- not a bad way to go out, you think.

>start sobbing

You resist the urge to have a full on breakdown, because...

>"great! it's lovely to be at the center of attention!"

Even without Gammon there, you're _still being watched._

>any people around other than yourselves that you can notice?

You see flashes of yellow out the corner of your eye. They're hanging around the entrance to the stairwell down, probably.

>sohyru asuka langley dess yoroshiku

What.

>check self + surroundings

>ok what are your priorities

Your name is GEAR, and the WORLD IS ABOUT TO END, and so you're helping Gammon set up a WORLD'S END DRINKING PARTY. A party of two. Yay.

You are in the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. Next to one of the glass windows is a TABLE WITH TWO CHAIRS. There is a CLOSET. There is a SPOTLIGHT SWITCH that turns the SPOTLIGHT at the top of the clocktower ON AND OFF. Above you are the CLOCKTOWER BELLS.

>"great! it's lovely to be at the center of attention!"

>start sobbing

>sohyru asuka langley dess yoroshiku

Panicked sobs rise in your throat, and you forcefully choke them back. If the Master of the Graveyard catches you, if she finally gets that excuse and decides to make you her last meal...  
Worst case scenario, worst case scenario, just because it can happen doesn’t mean it will...

And you don’t have to wholly get away with it. As long as you can stay safe for the next few hours, you’ll be alright. Just one last drink...

>any people around other than yourselves that you can notice?

>check self + surroundings

The Master of the Graveyard is just around the corner-- occupied, but she won't remain so forever.. You think it's the Director talking to her.

You're pressed against the wall, facing the graveyard. Your goal, the pavillion-- and the alcohol within-- is just ahead.

>ok what are your priorities

Get in. Grab a bottle or two. Get out and back to the clocktower. Don’t die before you can down several gulps. That’s all you need to do.

>ok so you need to get drinks

No shit.

>champagne, wine or vodka?

Honestly you don't care what Gammon ends up stealing as long as it gets you drunk and it gets you drunk quickly.

>ok so you need to get drinks

>champagne, wine or vodka?

Whatever you can grab. You aren't picky.

>change switch to off state

Switch?

>wORLD'S END DANCEHALL

Seems like a dangerous place to dance, but okay.

>wORLD'S END DANCEHALL

What?

>change switch to off state

You try to flip the switch, but you can't! It's stuck!

>gear: change switch to off state

The switch, which is actually a metallic lever, is stuck.

>GEAR: I meant fancy beer, not to fancy beer

You really would like some beer right now.

>suggest netflix and suffering

You're already suffering, and what's "netflix"?

>suggest netflix and suffering

What's netflix? Well, at least you have the second part down.

> Curse Gallerian Marlon for the awful engineering in this theatre

You would never miss a chance to curse Gallerian Marlon, but you don't think it's really his fault this time. It looks like a lack of maintenance on your part.

>apply force to switch

You push harder, but no dice. There has to be a way to make this lever move smoothly.

> Gear: use your bara woodcutter arms

After your sacrifice, you're as thin as a twig. Oh well.

>GEAR: Ask Gammon for help

"Uh, Gammon? The switch is stuck. Any ideas?"

> Curse Gallerian Marlon for the awful engineering in this theatre

Honestly you can't blame him for your immediate situation. You don't need to wait for the spotlight, which affects your getaway more than your entrance. You take the opportunity to mouth curses at him for your general situation, however.  
Nothing to be done about it now. The end of the world is upon you. All that’s left is for you to live your best life.

>gammon: observe surroundings and see if there';s anything that can further distract grave

Don't want to risk being seen. What kind of distraction...?

>Gear: Is there oil or something?

Actually, you DO remember using an oilcan to maintain the clocktower mechanisms.

Where is it though?

>gammon: tie your hair likr court

You briefly consider changing your hairstyle. Certainly not right now...

"I don't know, oil it? Cut the wire? You know the place better than I do."

>gear: gammon do you know where tf is the oilcan

"Right," you say. You know you had it in this room somewhere. Gammon wouldn't know, he barely goes here.

>gear: look around

You are in the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. Next to one of the glass windows is a TABLE WITH TWO CHAIRS. There is a CLOSET. There is a SPOTLIGHT SWITCH that turns the SPOTLIGHT at the top of the clocktower ON AND OFF. Above you are the CLOCKTOWER BELLS. If you walk in just the right spot, you can even inspect their insides.

>gear: LOOK AROUND LOOK AROUND AT HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO BE ALIIIIVE RIGHT NOw

Honestly, you'd rather be in the Heavenly Yard with Eve rather than planning on drinking away your sorrows as you wait for the world to burn.

Then again, you probably don't deserve the Heavenly Yard.

> gear: hISTORY is HAPPENING IN MANHATTAN AND WE JUST HAPPEN TO BE IN THE GREATEST FOREST IN THE WOOOOOORLD

There is no forest anymore. It's gone.

> dance dance dance

You shouldn't waste time and risk making noise.....

>b u r n i t a l l

No, the alcohol will be for drinking.

> gear: check table

On the table are TWO GLASSES. One for you and one for Gammon.

>gear: check the closet

> gear: check closet

You open the closet. Inside it is a LADDER and SOME RAGS. Where is the oilcan?!

You think you hear Gretel giggle.

>then drink

Yes, the thing is, you need to get the alcohol from the Master of the Graveyard's stash before you can drink it,

> gammon: acquire puzzle progress

Puzzle?

> gear: sing "Big Enough"

You don't know a song of that name.

>gear: acquire ladder and rags

With a grunt, you take the ladder out of the closet and lay it against the wall in case you feel like using it.

...

Actually, you think it looks more like a stepladder.

You take the rags as well, tying them around your wrist so you don't lose them. There is a BOBBY PIN attached to them.

>GEAR: inspect the Clocktower Bells' insides

You stand beneath them and... Oh Levia, _seriously?!_

The oilcan is hanging from the bell clapper by a rope. It is out of your reach.

The giggling grows louder.

> :gammon: yeah you're currently puzzled

Not really. You've gone over the plan how many times in your head, but standing here won't help you get through it.

>giggle back

You feel like laughing nervously, but you'll be heard if you do that.

>b u r n i t a l l

Someone's already about to do that for you, thanks.

> dance dance dance

You are not interested in making yourself look like a bigger idiot than you already are.

>then drink

THERE'S NOTHING TO DRINK.

>giggle back

You start giggling back sarcastically, but then you stop yourself. That never helped back then and it won't now.

>gear: tell gammon that this is a stepladder. your real ladder left when you were 5.

"Gammon, I found my stepladder. My real ladder left when I was a small child-"

What in the Hellish Yard are you doing.

> you can do this!

You can do this. You can. Get in, grab the booze, get out. Do it really quick. Do it before she sees you.

>USE LADDER

>gear: USE LADDER

>gear: use stepladder to get to can

>gear: ACQUIRE OILCAN

You heave the stepladder over and climb to the clapper. You make a grab for the oilcan, but then you realized that it's tied very tightly to the clapper with a thick rope and tough knots.

The giggling grows into roaring laughter. Haha, Gretel, it wasn't funny when it was the well bucket and watering can and it's still isn't funny now. Ugh.

> you can do this!

Positive thoughts... positive thoughts...

You can't untie the rope. You're going to have to find some way to cut it.

> :gammon: make sure the coast is clear

You cautiously peek around the corner. They're still talking. That's as clear as the coast will get, you suppose.

>gear: acquire Graveyard, get her to chew through the rope

You want to drink alcohol before you die, thank you.

>yell padoru padoru to get gretel to stfu

It's bad form to yell at your child.

>gear: do you have a knife?

No. You're going to have to improvise.

>yell padoru padoru to get gretel to stfu

Yelling would be one surefire way to throw this plan out the window before... before you even really start carrying it out. God.

>:gammon: then run

Only one thing to do. You run for it.

You dash away from the wall, full speed, for the pavilion. No turning back now.  
You clamber over one of the counters and cower behind it, breathing heavily, desperately listening for any indication that you’ve been noticed.

...Nothing. So far. Alright, on to step two.

>gear: break a window and use the shards to cut rope

>gear: wrap your hand in the rags first

Sounds like a plan, but you soon learn that you're too weak to break through the glass. You fall back and let out an undignified yelp.

They're still laughing at you. You try to ignore them.

Is there anything else you can break?

>it's bad form for a child to laugh at their parents

It's even more bad form to abandon your children in the wilderness.

>it's bad form for a child to laugh at their parents

You wonder if the twins still consider Gear-- Adam-- their parent at all.

>gear: break the glasses

You throw your glass against the wall. You'll just drink straight from the bottle when Gammon gets here. It shatters into nice sharp shards.

>gear: kick window

No need to hurt yourself more than you already have, or plan to.

> :gammon: where's the alcohol?

You look around. The kitchen is an L-shaped structure, well-stocked with ingredients and cooking elements. You quickly scan the racks, cabinets, and counters. Which will you search first?

>gear: wrap your hand in rags, use the shards to cut the rope

>gear: Obtain shards

Making sure to tuck the BOBBY PIN to your sleeve, you wrap your hand in rags for safety and take a nice-sized GLASS SHARD.

You then climb the stepladder, and after a few minutes of effort, manage to server the rope.

You now have ONE OILCAN.

>gear: apply oil to lever

You generously oil the SPOTLIGHT SWITCH. You've really been neglecting the upkeep of the tower lately, but with the state of the world, you don't think anyone would blame you.

It should move smoothly now.

>gammon: search racks

You approach the racks and take quick stock of what you see. Spices, oil... a nearly-empty bottle of cooking wine. You'll try to find something better than that.

> :gammon: cabinets

Trying to move as quickly as possible, you move across the kitchen to the cabinets, freezing for a second when you step on what sounds like wood instead of stone.

The cabinets... cutlery, pans, pots... No bottles.

>gear: anything else you should fix for the spotlight to work

You're actually trying to turn it off.

>gear: PULL THE LEVER, GEAR

Checking to make sure that you have the RIGHT LEVER (which is a bit ridiculous, since it's the only lever around), you FLIP THE SPOTLIGHT SWITCH with a satisfying click.

The spotlight shuts off. That's one obstacle down!

The spotlight vanishes. Well, Gear did his job. Now you do yours.

> :gammon: anyone that's noticed you?

> :gammon: counters

You take a cautious peek over the counter. They haven't turned. Did they even notice the spotlight is off now?

Well, that works to your advantage.

You scan the counters. A bottle.... no, that's vinegar. Jakoku sauce.

Where would she keep the alcohol...

You crack your knuckles, satisfied at a job semi-well done. Now, you have to disable the traps along the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWELL if Gammon even wants to hope to get to the BELFRY alive.

You walk to the exit, and there they are, smiling at you just as innocently as that night.

"And where do _you_ think-"

"-_You’re_ going?"

You shut your eyes and sigh. "If I ask nicely, will you let me pass?"

"You turned it off," Gretel points out.

"The spotlight, that’s supposed to help us find intruders," Hansel feels the need to add.

They close ranks, blocking your way. They don't attack, but they don't fall back either. Just smile at you with those empty eyes.

"Looks like we can’t let you out of our sights~!" They say, in unison.

God, they weren't this CREEPY back then, even when they were kids...

Guess you're stuck here for now, then.

>:gammon: check floor. Any trapdoors?

You check the floor, returning to the wooden bit you noticed earlier...

There! You feel a handle.

Of course. Wine would be in the cellar.

>Gear: Air raid security. Harder to hit the theatre if theres no light.

"I'm afraid of us being attacked from the air," you say, somewhat honestly. Even so, you fail to mention the fact that you feel that there's nothing anyone can do. "If they can't see us, we're harder to hit."

They don't budge. "Mistress will protect us!"

How are they getting their voices to DO that?

> :gammon: open, carefully.

What if it creaks? But you don't really have the time to consider your options. Slowly, carefully, you pull the door open...

It's cool inside, and pitch dark. You definitely can't afford to turn on a light, so you'll just have to deal with it.

>GEAR: "Better safe than sorry"

"Better safe than sorry," you say. "Now, can you let me through?"

They shake their heads cheerfully. "Better safe than sorry~!" they parrot back at you.

Dammit. You should've seen that coming. They always did that.

>gear: homicide

The last time you checked, the score was 0-1, in their favor.

You wonder how Gammon is doing...

>GEAR: force your way through

You're not interested in dying early, because there's still two of them and one of you.

>GAMMON: what is there?

You carefully descend the steps, keeping one hand on the wall.

There-- the wine racks. You run one hand over the diamonds of wood and the cold, corked bottles sitting in them. That's what you're after.

>gammon: murder

Murder... who?

>GEAR: Is there anything you can say to convince them to let you go?

You doubt it. The only one in the world who can call them off at this point is their "mistress", and right now she's Gammon's problem.

>gear: vengeance is mine saith the gear

You are SO. TIRED. OF **VENGEANCE**.

VENGEANCE GOT YOU INTO THIS MESS. VENGEANCE IS WHAT BROUGHT YOU HERE. VENGEANCE IS THE REASON WHY YOU'RE STUCK IN A CLOCKTOWER WAITING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD. YOU ARE _**SICK**_ OF VENGEANCE.

>GAMMON: take the bottles

> gammon: obtain bottles

You take a few bottles-- two, that's how many you think you can carry safely. Their length is rather surprising, but you aren’t complaining. You can carry this much, and bigger bottles mean more to drink.

Alright. Next step is... get out.

>fuck

You know where the back door is. You have the key. The spotlight is off.

All you need to do is... get yourself there.

> :gammon: wrap a scarf around bottles

> :gammon: Leave already

You wrap a scarf around the bottles as securely as you can, hold them close to your chest, and ascend the stairs.

It's warm outside. You don't seem to have been noticed yet.

>GEAR: Are you not stronger than them-

>gear: BUT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY OUT

>gear: STABBY STABBY

You're not. You're really not. Two of them, one of you. They've managed to capture GAMMON, and he's bigger than you.

>gear: Leave, then.

You can't, that's kind of the issue.

You settle on staring down the twins, but you give up. You can't beat the twins at a stare-off. They're simply the best there is.

> :gammon: Tell gear you have the wine

"I have the wine," you say. "I'm heading back now-- shit."

The cellar door tips over and slams shut, the noise like a gunshot in the dead air.

Oh fuck.

You glance back at the building, at the Masters in front-- there's no way that went unnoticed.

Time to _go_.

>hug the twins

Now _that_, you remember, they definitely DIDN'T like. At least by the time they were teenagers.

>yolo

What.

> :gammon: Get out of here

You abandon stealth and sprint full-speed across the graveyard to the back door.

Did they see it was you? Would they recognize you were no unfamiliar intruder?

You arrive at the door, out of breath. It's locked.

> gammon: guess you'll die

Not sober and alone, you won't!

This is part of the plan. Nothing went wrong. They key is in your pocket.

>GAMMON: Open the door

With shaking hands, you slide the key in the back door. Thankfully it turns without issue, and you yank it the door open and stumble in.

As you sit there trying not to feel sorry for yourself, the twins suddenly perk up, as if they heard something you didn’t.

“The Mistress-” Gretel says.

“-Is calling us…” Hansel finishes.

They both get close, just to make sure you feel intimidated.

“Don’t go anywhere!” Gretel sing-songs.

“We’ll be-”

“Right back!”

They then turn and leap down the stairwell, deftly avoiding the traps Court demanded be set for the sake of increased security.

You blink, standing up. You guess that’s taken care of.

You’ve got more work to do. You sigh as you step out into the stairwell.

>gammon: shut the door and lock it behind you

Of course. Of course. You shut the door, lock it, and test it for good measure. You're safe for now, probably.

You sigh deeply.

_ **Nemesis had walked out of the theater as if she were in a trance. Around her were the few plants that were close enough to escape annihilation, but even she knew they were doomed, already shriveled up and withering.** _

_ **Outside that small radius was.. nothing. Hazy mist beyond and a layer of grey dust beneath. Nemesis walked, and kept walking. ** _

_ **All was still, blanked-out like a clean sheet of paper. Silent, except for the sound of her own footsteps. Pure.** _

_ **There was nothing around to stop her. She would allow nothing to stop her. Nemesis walked forward, resolute, into the comforting blankness.** _


	2. 1/13/19

You are at the TOP of the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWELL. You have SIX HOURS before the end.

You stand in an unlit hallway. Behind you is the door you came through-- now locked. You're safe for now, probably. Two bottles of alcohol are safely in your arms. The plan proceeds.

>take a nap ?

You're pretty sure you're supposed to pass out AFTER a drinking party, not BEFORE it.

> CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG

There's nothing to chug except the oil you're carrying. Are you sure?

>take a nap ?

Now??

You're already halfway through Operation: Apocalypse Alcohol, you might as well see it through!

> CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG

You could, but you really shouldn't. It's not fun to drink alone, and besides, you have a perfectly good drinking buddy waiting in the clocktower.

You should start making your way there soon. And by soon you mean "right now".

>gear: look around

The stairway spirals away below you, turning past the central column and out of sight, as spirals tend to do. Nowhere to go but DOWN.

>just one lick

You look at the oilcan, looking at your pathetic face in the metallic surface. On impulse, you lick a small oilstain.

You shudder and try to wipe off the taste with your sleeve.

Alcohol tastes worse, but at least that has the decency of getting you drunk.

> hey you're not dead!

>yet!

> good job!

You get to live six more hours. Hooray.

>just one lick

N... no. You don't lick a bottle.

> hey you're not dead!

>yet!

> good job!

You sure did make off with the booze alive! Now to enjoy it properly...

>consider

Consider what? The oil can? Your next move? Your life choices? Your life, full-stop? Your endless list of mistakes?

> gammon: ascend stairs

There are no stairs here.... you think? It's dark. You should find the light switch.

> Honor and praise

Our own great Cephalopod

This world’s oceans

All of them exist for you

If the world ends, you hope some aquatic species survive and become the next dominant species on this godsforsaken planet.

They'll probably handle it a lot better than the rest of you did.

>gammon, consider it.

>consider the octopus, gammon

> here's a change of pace gammon consider a squid

>consider

> gammon: consider the mighty and noble cephalopods

> Honor and praise

Our own great Cephalopod

This world’s oceans

All of them exist for you

Cephalopods... Hm, it would be nice to have a snack... calamari...

There's no way to get any of that now, unfortunately.

> gear: disable the traps, maybe?

An... embarrassing realization.

In your emotional turmoil, you've COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN where the traps were, what they even were, and how they could even be disabled.

Looks like you’ve got work to do.

>walk down the stairs

You begin to DESCEND.

As you do so, you approach a DOOR on your right-hand side.

From here, you can enter the DOOR or keep going DOWN.

> gammon: look for a lightswitch

With one hand-- holding the bottles to your chest with your other arm-- you feel the dusty walls for the switch.

It takes a bit of searching, but you do find it.

> Gammon: turn the lights on

You flip the switch. A light above you comes on with a faint hum, and you blink as the sudden change hurts your eyes.

When you can look again, you see three doors-- one to the right, one to the left, and one straight ahead.

> Gear: Open door

You open the DOOR, flinching back, but nothing happens. Thank the gods, whatever gods there are left.

You peek inside.

Oh!

It's the MECHANISM ROOM. You wonder if you should go inside.

> gear: enter

You are in the MECHANISM ROOM. You have SIX HOURS before the end.

> gammon: open center door

You walk to the end of the hallway and open the door.

A familiar hallway, familiar voices muffled with distance-- the Waiter, you think?. You shouldn't go this way. The whole point of using the back door was to be discreet.

> gear: look around

This room is where the MAIN MECHANISM of the clocktower is housed. Meaning: all the screws and gears and such should be in this room.

Well, since you're a Gear now, and you just entered, _now_ all the gears are in this room.

You remember... it was here where you noticed the clocktower begin to fail, all those years ago.

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into a slot in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is a TRAPDOOR here.

> gear: obtain a screw, a gear, and pride

All the screws are vital to the operation of the clocktower. You wouldn't have literally given your heart if you didn't honestly care for this marvel of timekeeping.

Among other reasons.

Whatever pride you had, you lost a thousand years ago. You feel like you should never get it back.

So that means all you have, is yourself.

No matter what happens, no matter how much you lose, you’ll always be stuck with yourself.

> gear: search shelf

You look on the SHELF. There is a bronze unattached HAND-CRANK there.

> gammon: shut the door

>gammon: left door

You carefully shut the door and make your way back, to the door on the left.

A fine layer of dust coats the floorboards. To the right is a set of double doors, slightly ajar.

To the left are three doors-- dressing rooms, if you recall correctly.

A string hangs down from the ceiling on the far side of the room.

> gear: take the hand crank

> take It

You take the HAND-CRANK.

> gear: open trap doot

> door

You make your way to the trap door, doot-dooting absent-mindedly as you did so. What song was that from again? You can't remember. Eve liked it though, you remember sadly.

You are about to open the door when you realize your hands are full. You'll have to put something down.

>i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

A bobbypin (on your sleeve)

Several rags (wrapped around your arms)

An oilcan (in your right hand)

A handcrank (in your left)

> put down the crank

You put down the crank on the floor. You hope you don't forget about it.

>open the door

Which door?

> noot noot

Gods, you HATED IT whenever that show was on in the orphanage. You never got any sleep.

> gear: open the trapdoor

You open the trap door. Looks like it leads to the LOWER LEVEL of the MECHANISM ROOM.

>gammon: pull the string

You pull the string, and a cloud of dust comes out, sending you into a coughing fit.

When it passes, you squint up through the square hole in the ceiling. This is the access you're supposed to use, you believe, but...

What seems like it used to be a rope ladder hangs from the ceiling-- not long enough for you to reach, and certainly no longer functional enough for you to use.

You'll need to find a different way to climb up there.

> gear: check the mechanism room

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into a slot in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is an OPEN TRAPDOOR leading to the LOWER LEVEL here.

> gammon: make a rope ladder from your scarves

....Even if you could, hypothetically speaking, make one just from the scarves on your person that was long enough to be functional and sturdy enough to support your weight... how would you attach it?

> gear: go to the lower level

> gear: bring the hand crank

You DESCEND once again, remembering to take the HAND CRANK with you. You are now in the LOWER LEVEL of the MECHANISM ROOM.

>gear: wait what am I trying to do?

You are trying to DISABLE THE TRAPS along the CLOCKTOWER STAIRCASE. Which is a bit awkward, considering you DON'T KNOW what the traps ACTUALLY ARE.

> gear: look around

The room is darker, and much more musty. Here, the PENDULUM is FREE TO SWING in earnest. You cringe at its WICKED SHARP EDGES. On one side of the room is a LARGE CABINET. On another, right in the path of the pendulum (but it doesn't swing far enough, thankfully), is a NARROW HOLE IN THE WALL.

> gammon: look through the double doors

You look inside, and find the light switch just beside the doorway.

It's the backstage area. Two hallways lead to the sides of the stage, and a staircase by a wall leads to a door-- presumably to the area that handles lights and other effects.

> gear: look through the hole

You try, but you can barely see anything besides the walls of the stairway. It's very _very_ narrow.

> gear: search the cabinet

You carefully do a COOL EVASIVE MANEUVER to get past the PENDULUM and make your way to the cabinet.

To your disappointment, it's locked.

Just when you were about to brag to Gammon about your COOL EVASIVE MANEUVER...

You think you see something on top of it.

> gammon: go up the staircase

You go up carefully, the sound of your boots on the metal quite loud in the silence.

\--The ticking you hear from the Onion aside. The clocktower's mechanisms are not quiet.

The door is locked. Do you need to be here...?

>i

You have:

-Two bottles of alcohol, tied together with your scarf.

-Back door key

> gear: parkour up on the cabinet

You feel ashamed by the waste of your last COOL EVASIVE MANEUVER and decide to just reach up and feel for the object like a regular person. Or at least, a regular tall person.

You look at what you grabbed. It's a SCREWDRIVER.

>gear: break off the lock by punching it

You squint angrily at the lock. You punch it, to try to make yourself feel better, but instead it just leaves you on the floor in tears.

When will you learn to not do every single impulsive thing that comes to mind?

>gear: scoot the cabinet towards the pendulum

You try, but then you realize that it's literally attached to the wall.

> how?

How are you going to get out of this mess? You don't know! Yay!

>gammon: do you have a storage room here, or something?

Probably, but not up here.

You descend the stairs and think about the doors you haven't tried yet. There are the three you thought were probably dressing rooms, and the door from the first hallway you found yourself in...

>gammon go down the stairs case and into one of the hallways

The first hallway?

You return there. There are four doors, and only one you haven't tried yet.

> gear: use bobby pin as a lockpick

Yes... it's coming back to you... You set down the oilcan and take the bobby pin and shape it into a familiar tool from your orphan days.

You stick it into the lock, but then you realize something. You need another thing, besides the bobby pin...

> gammon: open the dressing room doors

On second thought...

You return to the hallway and try the dressing rooms.

The first door swings open easily. As you expected, inside you find mirrors and dressers and curtains.

How much use did this room even see?

> gear: scream internally

Your internal monologue has been constant screaming for the past few centuries or so.

> gear: what else do you need?

You're trying to remember, but it's just not coming to you.

>gear: i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

Several rags (wrapped around your arms)

An bobbypin (in your right hand)

A screwdriver (in your left)

>gear: can I fit a screwdriver and hand crank?

In what?

Actually, now that you think about it, you think you left the HANDCRANK on TOP OF THE CABINET.

> gear: in my hands

You're not sure if you have big enough hands. That hand crank is HEAVY.

> gear: can you use the screwdriver and bobby pin to pick the lock

Yes! That's it!

You use the screwdriver and bobby pin in tandem, and after a few minutes of struggling, the cabinet springs open. Success!

> gammon: open the other dressing room doors

You look through the other doors. They're much the same: dressers, chairs, curtains, and unfortunately no ladders.

>gammon: explore the one door we haven't been in

You go back and turn towards the last door you have to explore.

The handle takes some effort to turn, but eventually it does.

There you go! The light from the hallway faintly illuminates a storeroom.

A white cloth covers something large in the corner. A rack for clothes stands on the far side-- empty, except for a couple of wire hangers. Painted wood backdrops are piled on each other and placed by the wall.

You frown. Still no ladder in sight.

> gear: look inside

You look inside, and... oh sweet Levia.

Inside is a COMPLEX MECHANISM which, if you're looking at things properly, is meant to CRUSH THE UNFORTUNATE VICTIM by using pistons to PUSH THE INTERIOR WALL of the staircase towards the EXTERIOR WALL. Well. That's your first trap I guess.

The mechanism seems bolted to the wall by a succession of LARGE... well... BOLTS. You're not strong enough to unscrew them on your own.

> gammon: remove the white cloth

You pull the cloth off, leaving it in a pile on the floor, and raising a haze of dust in the process. Under it is a trolley. There's a pair of fabric scissors inside.

> gear: can you just kind off... attatch the screw driver to the crank?

You'd need a wrench for this, not a screwdriver.

> gear: do you know where a wrench might be?

There's nothing else in this room besides the screwdriver and what you brought with you down here, so maybe it's upstairs?

> gammon: use scissors and white cloth to make a spooky ghost outfit for yourself

You try, but the cloth is too thick for the scissors-- it's canvas, you think.

Nevertheless, eyeholes or not, you drape it over your head anyway...

There you are. The Blind Dust Ghost. Heheheheh--- you aren't even drunk yet, why are you doing this.

You sneeze.

> gear: tell gammon to really not go up the stairs yet

"Hey," you mention, staring haplessly at the mechanism. "I'm having a bit of trouble with the traps. The staircase isn't safe yet. Are you at the clocktower already?"

You wonder what Gammon's been doing while you've been struggling. You thought you heard him coughing, a while back...

> gear: head upstairs

You head for the trapdoor ladder, not bothering to do a COOL EVASIVE MANEUVER this time, settling for just a plain EVASIVE MANEUVER so you don't end up turned into fresh hors d'oeuvres for the Master of the Graveyard.

You are now back in the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM.

You freeze underneath the sheet of canvas.

"Not yet. I'm having some problems here too, but I should be there soon..."

You kind of don't want to admit you were messing around.

The bottles and scissors are on the trolley.

> gammon: tie the canvas like a cape. be the Seeing Dust Knight

...What Gear doesn't know won't hurt him.

You tie the canvas over your shoulders. You are now the Dust Knight.

Soon...

Mentally, you encourage Gammon to take his time. It would be embarrassing to keep him waiting.

You then suddenly remember that you're supposed to be racing against THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD so you take back all your encouragements.

There has to be a wrench in here, you hope desperately.

> gear: look around

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into a slot in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is a TRAPDOOR here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to [Doldrum](https://doldoodles.tumblr.com/) for drawing this. Thanks Doldrum, I still haven't stopped laughing. Def peak art.  
-Kat


	3. 1/22/19

>gammon: x cavnas

You take a closer look at the cavnas. Canvas.

It's very dusty, and the paint on one side is cracked and peeling. This was a backdrop once, you think.

>gear: x shelf again

You stomp over to the shelf again, hoping against hope that you missed something.

Wow. For once in your life, you were completely thorough.

Unfortunately, that means the shelf is EMPTY.

> gear: go back to the room in the clocktower whatever you call it?

> the one with the table

Wringing your hands, you leave the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM and climb back up to the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY.

You have SIX HOURS before the end.

> gear: look around

You are in the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. Next to one of the glass windows is a TABLE WITH TWO CHAIRS. There is an OPENED CLOSET. There is a SPOTLIGHT SWITCH that turns the SPOTLIGHT at the top of the Clocktower ON AND OFF. Right now, you note with triumph, it's flipped to the ON POSITION. Above you are THE CLOCKTOWER BELLS.

> check the closet

You check the closet. It's empty.

Drat.

> gear: descend stairs

It just keeps happening, doesn't it?

Grumbling, you go back down the stairs and reach the ENTRANCE TO THE MECHANISM ROOM. From here, you can DESCEND FURTHER or ENTER THE ROOM.

>descend further

>don't get crushed by the wall please

Suddenly nervous, you walk gingerly past the MECHANISM ROOM DOOR and further down the clocktower, holding your breath with each step you take.

You hear a _click_ beneath your feet.

The interior wall suddenly moves in from your right at frightening speed, and you can’t help but let out an ungodly screech.

You take off down the steps, hearing the _click-click-click_ of the pressure plates beneath your feet as you try to outrun the pistons you know are hidden behind the approaching wall.

You don’t make it.

At least no one would be lying when they say you’re a _flat_ character.

**YOU HAVE DIED.**

Lu Li La...

Lu Li La...

>gammon: explore the one door we haven't been in

You go back and turn towards the last door you have to explore.

The handle takes some effort to turn, but eventually it does.

There you go! The light from the hallway faintly illuminates a storeroom.

A white cloth covers something large in the corner. A rack for clothes stands on the far side-- empty, except for a couple of wire hangers. Painted wood backdrops are piled on each other and placed by the wall.

You frown. Still no ladder in sight.

>gear: x shelf again

You stomp over to the shelf again, hoping against hope that you missed something.

Wow. For once in your life, you were completely thorough.

Unfortunately, that means the shelf is EMPTY.


	4. 1/26/19

>lu li la motherfuckers

You hum an old lullaby in an attempt to calm yourself down.

It doesn't work.

>x room

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into an opening in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is an OPEN TRAPDOOR here, leading to the LOWER LEVEL.

>lu li la motherfuckers

Gear is humming a song you swear you've heard elsewhere before. You don't really feel like asking about it.

>trap your self in the trap door

There's no way to do that. There's no lock on the trap door.

>x room

You just did. It's very dusty.

A white cloth covers something large in the corner. A rack for clothes stands on the far side-- empty, except for a couple of wire hangers. Painted wood backdrops are piled on each other and placed by the wall.

>gear: x pendulum slot

You walk past the MASS OF CLOCKWORK in order to take a closer look at the pendulum. Just as you expected, it's rather narrow, but below you can see the LOWER LEVEL.

>Gammon: pull white cloth off

You pull the cloth off, leaving it in a pile on the floor. Under it is a trolley. There's a pair of fabric scissors inside.

If there's no ladder here, where could you find one....

>gear: have we been to the lower level?

You had just come up from the LOWER LEVEL. If you recall correctly (from a few minutes ago), you were looking for a WRENCH.

>gear: why was I looking for a wrench?

To disable the traps, of course.

Your suddenly spotty memory is concerning you, just a little.

"Hey Gammon," you say, "is desperately wanting to get drunk enough to get you preemptively drunk?"

What the Hellish Yard was that question, even.

>gear: ok where can I go

From here, you can EXIT the MECHANISM ROOM or DESCEND into the LOWER LEVEL.

==>

What was that supposed to mean?

"N...o?" Probably.

"Is everything alright there?" Should you be worried?

You should definitely stop fooling around....

>Gammon: i

You have:

-Back door key

-Two bottles of alcohol

>gammon: take scissors

You take the scissors. Why, you're not quite sure, but it fits easily enough in your pockets and no one's going to miss it.

>gear: descend

You just came from the LOWER LEVEL, so instead you DESCEND slowly, landing on your knees with your forehead pressed to the cold floor as you wonder how the Hellish Yard you're supposed to answer that.

>gear: i'm all right what art thou talking about

"I'm alright," you say, even though you haven't been alright in forever. "I'm fine, how art thou?"

You are all going to die.

>gear: haven't I explored the whole lower level?

You're not sure if you've checked out everything in this room yet.

>gammon: cough what is a trolley?

Instead of answering, you just cough.

The trolley is a little cart on four wheels, probably for transporting props. There are no props on it.

...Or are there? The scissors are real scissors, right?

>gammon: take the trolley apart

You don't know how? And for what reason would you do that...

>gear: examine surroundings

Sitting up, you rub your bleary eyes, grateful that Gammon didn't seem to notice what you just said. Or if he did, he was too polite to mention it.

Good man, that Gammon.

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into an opening in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is an OPEN TRAPDOOR here, leading to the LOWER LEVEL.

>both: disintegrate the mass of clockwork

You may have a smidgen of magic potential compared to Eve's but not THAT big of a smidgen.

You give it a gentle punch. No more nearly breaking your hand this time.

>both: disintegrate the mass of clockwork

Huh? What and how?

Even if you could somehow do that, you don't want the clocktower to come crashing down on top of you...

>Gear: exit the mechanism room

You leave, feeling that you've missed something in there but unsure of what it is. You are now in the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWAY.

From here, you can either DESCEND FURTHER, RE-ENTER the MECHANISM ROOM, or GO BACK UP to the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY.

>gammon: maybe I could stand on the trolley to get to the attic?

You might be able to do that...? Sounds dangerous, but it might work.

>inserts ''just do it meme''

It's hard to do something when you're not even sure what to do.

>inserts ''just do it meme''

There's nothing to be lost if you don't try, you suppose.

So you'll need to wheel the trolley out into the other room...

>Gear: indecisively go back into the mechanism room and to the lower lever

You enter the room again, feeling that the answer to your problem is somewhere in this room.

You can't exactly enter a lever. It's made of solid metal.

>Gear: Contemplate sanity

You're afraid to contemplate anything relating to your mental state. It might make things worse.

>gammon: wheel trolley and head to the hole in the ceiling

You pull the cloth out of the way and wheel the trolley out, back into the room on the other side of the hallway, and stop underneath the access in the ceiling.

>Gear: go to lower level

You wrench open the trapdoor and jump down to the LOWER LEVEL.

There are SIX HOURS before the end.

>rewind to die

What, go back outside and offer yourself up to the Master of the Graveyard?

No. There are better ways to die. You _will_ die in a better way.

>Gear: panic and examine surroundings

You take deep breaths, imagining that you're keeping a feather afloat in the air just as someone had taught you to do, long ago.

It's kind of hard to calm down when you're facing the end of the world.

You look around. The room is darker, and much more musty. Here, the PENDULUM is FREE TO SWING in earnest. You cringe at its WICKED SHARP EDGES. On one side of the room is a LARGE CABINET. On another, right in the path of the pendulum (but it doesn't swing far enough, thankfully), is a NARROW HOLE IN THE WALL.

There wasn't a wrench in this room. That's why you left it in the first place.

>Gear: what did I leave in the cabinet

You don't bother doing any sort of maneuver to get past the pendulum. You just sort of crane your neck to check out the OPENED CABINET.

Next to it is the OILCAN that you had picked up from the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. On top of it is the HANDCRANK you got from the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM. You don't think you left anything else here.

>Gammon: here goes nothing put the trolley in place and hop on it

Here goes nothing indeed...

You get up on the trolley, very carefully.

Unfortunately, you can't reach the access. Fortunately, you can reach the remnants of the rope ladder, and after giving it a test pull, you think it might hold your weight.

But you can't do it one-handed, and you can't toss the bottles in ahead of you...

>Gear: check narrow hole again

You evade the pendulum, giving up on trying to look cool. You're not cool. You were never cool.

Eve didn't care about that, but that doesn't matter. She's gone.

You try to look through the hole, but you can barely see anything besides the walls of the stairway. It's very very narrow.

>gammon: put the bottles down on the ground while remaining steady

You put the bottles on the ground and pull yourself up.

Yeah, you think you can do it. You can clamber up through the hole this way.

But if you leave the bottles here, then what exactly was the point of this whole mission?

>Gear: i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

Several rags (wrapped around your arms)

An bobbypin (in your right hand)

A screwdriver (in your left)

>gear: any pockets?

You... completely forgot that you had pockets.

Idiot.

Red-faced, you stuff the bobbypin and screw driver into your left pants pocket. Your hands are now free.

>gammon: how good are you at cooking

Huh? You manage, but you aren't really good enough to write home about. Such is a bachelor's life.

Mmm, it would be nice to have food to go with the drinks, but you can't have everything. Besides. If there ever was a time to carelessly chug down a bottle, it would be now.

You sit down on the trolley. What to do about the bottles now...

>gear: consider the science of chemistry

Levia in the Heavenly Yard, it's been centuries....

Once upon a time, when you were very very young, you loved it. You loved learning about atoms and chemical bonds and all the elements of the periodic table. You even remember making up a little song about them, singing it to your mother as she clapped her hands merrily.

And then... and then....

You sigh.

Once again, you find yourself wanting alcohol _(ethanol, C2H5OH)_ to drown out the unpleasant past and impending lack of future.

>gear: do a chemistry

You have nothing to do chemistry with.

On the bright side, at least you don't have to titrate anymore.

>x trolley

There is no trolley in this room.

>x trolley

The trolley is a little cart on four wheels, probably for transporting props. There are no props on it, only your bottles.

>gammon: what did I need the bottles for?

They're for drinking-- later, and with Gear, not now. They're exactly why you're in this situation.

>consider the EtOH

Yeah, you _fucking want some already._

Where's that wrench?!

>gear: get the hand crank and oil can

In frustration, you retrieve the HAND CRANK and OILCAN from the cabinet, just to feel like you're doing something productive.

>gammon: you don't happen to have any very large pockets hidden in the abomination you call clothing?

Not large enough to fit two bottles the length of your forearm!

>gear: look under the cabinet

You take a peek under the cabinet to check if the wrench somehow got under there.

No dice. You growl in frustration.

Think, think. Was there anything you haven't checked out in the room above?

>gear: ascend to the above level

You time yourself right and just stomp directly across the room without evading the pendulum. You have work to do.

You ascend to the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM.

> Gammon: Where are you now?

You're underneath an access in the ceiling that should lead you to a little-used staircase to the clocktower. There are three doors that lead to dressing rooms, a pair of double doors that leads to backstage, and a door that leads to the hallway you came through.

>consider the EtOH

>gammon: contemplate on how much you are going through for a drink

Theoretically, the worst is over. The most dangerous part was nicking the bottles from the Master of the Graveyard's stash.

Might as well see this to the end, now that you're halfway there.

>gear: x mechanism room

You look around one more time.

There is a MASS OF CLOCKWORK in the center, a PENDULUM hanging above it, disappearing into a slot in the floor. There is a SHELF here. There is an OPEN TRAPDOOR here, leading to the LOWER LEVEL.

>gammon: what about your sleeves

Unwieldy and dangerous. You're not wearing a kimono.

>gammon: idea! Go back and retrieve the white cloth

>gammon: leave bottles here and get the cloth while also dragging the coat rack with hangars on it back

Hmm…

Leaving the trolley there, you return to the storeroom, and drag the coat rack and cloth out.

>gear also check shelf again

You take a fleeting glance at the shelf, but it's as empty as you last saw it.

>gear: look through the mass of clockwork

You rush to the center of the room, where an intimidating MASS OF CLOCKWORK is placed.

Standing in front of it, all these moving gears and wheels, makes you feel slightly afraid. You glance behind you on reflex, hoping the twins didn't follow you. In this mess, you could easily end up losing a finger if you aren’t careful.

You look through it carefully. You're kicking yourself for forgetting it’s very to lose things in this mess, and then, you strike gold.

There is a CRANKSHAFT here. There is a MYSTERIOUS BROWN GLASS BOTTLE here. There is... YOUR WRENCH!

>gear: cry tears of joy

You sniffle a little, pumping your fist in the air. It feels nice to celebrate the little victories, as rare as they are.

>gar: x brown bottle

You pick up the glass bottle, reading the label.

It's... a bottle of isopropyl alcohol.

Okay, now that's just the universe being cruel.

>gammon: head back to room where you left the bottle

You return there.

Just a little more...

You wonder how Gear is doing. He hasn't said anything in a while.

>OHH, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE

You say a quick prayer to whatever god is still out there. Levia, Behemo, Held... you don't care at this point.

You just want a drinking party, is that too much to ask?

>Gammon: Scream "almost there pal" in tears

>OHH, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE

"We're almost there! Halfway there!" you yell, taking even yourself off guard.

Are those tears on your face?

...They are tears. You're glad Gear can't see you. No one can ever know.

> Play "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog

From what? And on what?

> Play "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog

You vaguely remember that fairy tale, but you don't know that song. Was it on TV...?

Hah. Eve liked that fairy tale...

> Gear: grab bottle, crankshaft, wrench

"WE’RE DOING THIS, GAMMON!" you yell back, putting down the oilcan and hand crank to pick up the bottle and wrench. "WE’RE MAKING THIS HAPPEN!"

You can't take the crankshaft with you. It's attached to the mechanism. You can't turn it though, not without... something else.

>what about that romance between a frog and a snake

You definitely don't know THAT one.

>gear: can you oil the crank or something

> gaer: put the crank in the crankshaft

Thankfully, you've maintained this one well enough that you don't need to. You put down the bottle long enough to attach the crank to the crankshaft. It fits perfectly.

> Gear: CRANK LIKE SOULJA BOY

You consider yourself more of a diplomat, thank you very much.

You turn the crank, but...

Nothing happens.

Huh. You wonder what the point of that was.

>gammon: wrap the bottles in cloth, put cloth in your mouth, get up on the trolley and climb maybe?

Sounds like a plan, but a whole sheet of canvas is quite heavy to carry in your mouth, not even accounting for the bottles. Two full glass bottles the length of your forearms.

>gear: descend to the lover level, and use wrench to disable trap

You triumphantly DESCEND, doing one more COOL EVASIVE MANEUVER past the pendulum (just to show off), and begin unscrewing every single bolt that keeps the piston mechanism attached to the wall.

After much effort, the last one falls off, and with a mighty heave, you pull the entire thing away from the wall.

Okay, well, not that far, but just far enough to see that the triggering mechanism won't work anymore.

Success! One down!

>Gear: shout "Golly gee gammon I am cool now!"

"Gammon!" you crow, in spite of yourself. "I disabled one trap! Am I cool now?"

You realize what you just asked and you die a little inside. The faster you start drinking to forget, the better.

>gammon: sling it over your shoulder? can you climb one handed

> Gammon: Maybe create a sling and put the bottles inside?

>gammon: maybe use the hangers on the coat rack to attach the bottles to your back?

"Congratulations," you say, almost absentmindedly.

....You have no idea how else to respond to that.

A sling sounds workable. The hangers idea, less so...

You can't make it up there without both hands free, but you're getting somewhere...

>Gear: head out to the stairs

>gear: use crank again

You ASCEND to the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM, barely remembering to dodge the pendulum on the way. Before leaving the room, you crank again, but nothing dramatic happens. The pendulum swings as always, leaving you baffled at the crank's purpose. You exit to the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWELL.

You have SIX HOURS before the end.

>Gear: roll down the stairs

Are you sure? You disabled one trap but there could be more...

>gammon: could you tie it around your shoulders, somehow?

If you twisted the bottles into the cloth and then tied it over one shoulder that just might work!

It's heavy, but it might be a blessing after all that the cloth was so large. Any smaller, and you'd be afraid of the bottles falling out.

>Gear: nevermind then, is there a new door we can reach now?

If you recall correctly, the only room after this is the lobby near the rarely-used entrance for where you're planning to meet Gammon... which is all the way down the stairs.

>Gammon: start twisting

>Gammon use hangars to pin just in case

You place the bottles in the middle of the blanket and roll the bottles up in it.

For good measure, you take a couple of hangers down, and open them up to use them as pins.

...Unfortunately, the canvas is too thick to pierce.

You might be able to make do without the hanger-pins.

>Gear: wait we can't meet gammon till all the traps are disabled?

Not if you want to die climbing back up, you don't. Especially since neither of you are planning on being sober.

>Gear: head upstairs

You head upstairs, even if you know that there's nothing that you haven't already seen.

You are in the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. You have SIX HOURS before the end.

> Gammon: Make do and start climbing

That's that, you suppose!

You heft the bottles and put them into place on your back, then tie it around around your body, over one shoulder, as secure as you can.

You step up on the trolley and stand up. Here goes.

>Gammon: after climbing examine surroundings

You clamber up through the ceiling onto a wooden floor. Your fingers leave lines in the dust.

You sit up and look around. There isn't much here, except for the door.

"Made it," you say, feeling a sneeze building in the back of your nose.

"I'm at the door. How are the traps going?"

>Gear: cry because you don't know what to do next

You fight the urge to start sobbing because you know that Gammon can hear you. You wipe your face with the rags you have, taking deep breaths.

There was definitely more than one trap down there. You just need to find out what it is.

"I got one down!" you say, trying to sound cheerful. You then remember that isn't really your strong point as of late. "I... don't know if there are more though. Or what they are. You okay?"

> Gammon: "I'm fine"

You sneeze.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you say, wiping your nose with your sleeve.

You really don't have much reason to be proud of yourself, but you are anyway. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

"Where are you? It might take a while for me to finish up here," you sigh, looking out the window.

The forest that you and Eve had loved so much is no more. There is nothing left but ash, dust, and memory.

You remember...

There, by the theater, that was where her garden once was. And by the pavilion, the well. And on the spot of the theater itself, the cottage the two of you worked so hard to build. And there, in the graveyard, beneath the two oldest graves, lie your… lie Eve’s…

You collapse into the seat by the table.

You have work to do, you just have these last few tasks to do before you can start giving up and forgetting it all, and yet all you want to do is sleep beneath the earth forever. Be where you _should_ have been, beneath that old headstone, instead of having to watch the world end with your own eyes.

...

You force yourself up, wrenching your eyes away from the window.

In a few hours, you’ll get what you want anyway.

But for now, you wouldn’t want to leave Gammon out in the cold. You’ve hurt enough people already.

"The door you told me about, the metal one."

You trace the glyphs on the cold surface, and take a closer look at the raised panels underneath the glyphs-- buttons?

"Hey, you can open this from your side, right?" You press one of the buttons. It sinks into the door, and springs back up when you let go, but nothing seems to happen.

==>

You don't think there's anything else you can do now. You're not supposed to enter until the traps are all disarmed, and besides... The door seems to be locked.

Your palm meets your forehead, and you swear.

Right, that damned lock that Ma insisted on implementing...

"I can," you mutter, trying to recall what exactly was down there. "But I'm not there yet. Just wait for a bit."

You have SIX HOURS before the end. It wouldn’t be a good idea to keep him waiting for long.

>Gear: head back to the mechanism room I guess

You head back to the MECHANISM ROOM.

You have SIX HOURS before the end, nearly FIVE.

>i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

Several rags (wrapped around your arms)

A bottle of isopropyl alcohol (in your right hand)

A wrench (in your left)

An bobbypin (in your right pocket)

A screwdriver (in your right pocket)

>Gear: what items don't we have?

Well...

There's the LADDER you left back at the belfry, but it would be a bit tedious to carry it all the way down the stairs (you would need two hands free). The GLASS SHARD is also back at the belfry, which you think is a bit dangerous to be carrying. The HANDCRANK is on the CRANKSHAFT, where it belongs. You think that's all the items you've interacted with that you haven't taken with you.

>Gear: put the items down

Which ones?

>Gear: the ones in my left and right hand

You go back up to the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY and leave the WRENCH and BOTTLE OF ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL at the table.

>Gear: now take the ladder and wave it around to activate the trap

You haul up the ladder with a grunt. You have no idea what's gonna activate the trap but you're taking no chances.

>on the lower stairs

>pick up ladder and go down stairs wave it around till the trap is activated

You DESCEND the steps of the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWELL, ladder in your arms, feeling like a knight with his jousting lance.

You wave it around randomly in the air, gingerly going down step by step.

When you hear the _click_ beneath your feet you can't help but let an ungodly screech leave your throat as you flinch and cower.

But... nothing happens.

You look up, blinking.

Oh! That's right! You disabled the trap that was supposed to be here! You laugh, for the first time in what feels like centuries. You strut down the stairs, at least what looks like strutting while awkwardly carrying a ladder, not caring about the little _click-click-clicks_ of the useless pressure plates beneath your feet.

Maybe there was only one trap. Maybe this ladder is pointless. Maybe you're home free-

When you reach a familiar-looking slit in the wall, you feel a wire _snap_ at your ankles, something the ladder didn't catch due to the wire being too low to the ground.

You don't have time to pull off any evasive maneuvers, cool or no, and the last thing you hear is a faint whistling noise as the pendulum swings from the interior wall to do what it was sharpened for.

**YOU HAVE DIED.**

Lu Li La...

Lu Li La...

>Gammon: start twisting

>Gammon use hangars to pin just in case

You place the bottles in the middle of the blanket and roll the bottles up in it.

For good measure, you take a couple of hangers down, and open them up to use them as pins.

...Unfortunately, the canvas is too thick to pierce.

You might be able to make do without the hanger-pins.

>Gear: head back to the mechanism room I guess

You head back to the MECHANISM ROOM.

You have SIX HOURS before the end, nearly FIVE.


	5. 2/3/19

>EAT THE TIME

You stride over to the MECHANISM and bite a lever in frustration.

Ow.

You _do_ know this isn't going to do anything productive, right?

>gear: return to the lower mechanism room

You descend to the LOWER LEVEL of the MECHANISM ROOM.

>gammon: climb up

Never mind the pins then!

You heft the bottles and put them into place on your back, then tie it around around your body, over one shoulder, as secure as you can.

You step up on the trolley and stand up. Here goes.

You clamber up through the ceiling onto a wooden floor. Your fingers leave lines in the dust.

You sit up and look around. There isn't much here, except for the door.

>EAT THE TIME

You sure are eating time here...

You place a hand on the bottles, still nicely wrapped up in your canvas sling. Soon.

>eat the clocktower

>all of it

Who do you think you are? _Grave?_

>can't be killed by traps if you ate them

Eve once told you about the saying that everything is edible. At least once.

You might as well keep trying for the alcohol. Traps kill you quickly, but at least alcohol just kills you slowly.

>eat the clocktower

>all of it

>can't be killed by traps if you ate them

That sure is a line of logic.

But without the clocktower, you wouldn't have a nice quiet place to get dead drunk and wait for everything to end....

You sneeze. The dust is getting to you.

>gear: x slit in the wall

You look through the slit in the wall, again.

Nothing has changed.

Were you expecting something to change?

>gear: ascend ladder, use the crank, then descend and check the slit again

You decide to try something.

Skirting past the pendulum and scrambling up the ladder, you race to the HANDCRANK and start turning it.

As you do, you notice for the first time that there's no RESISTANCE to it, like you would normally feel whenever you wind the clocktower. It feels like... a bicycle you rode once as a child. You tried to pedal backwards, but no matter how hard you tried, spinning endlessly for minutes, nothing happened.

Sure enough, when you go check downstairs in breathless anticipation, nothing has changed.

>gear: return to stairs

Stepping back in disappointment, you ASCEND to the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM then EXIT to the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWELL.

You have SIX HOURS before the END, almost FIVE.

>octopi

You don't know how a ziz tiama can help your situation right now. You do feel like you have a raincloud above your head though.

>gammon: think about octopie

>octopi

Octopus pie? Hmmm.... Chewy. Octopi. Octopie.

>Octopi is octoπ. Maths. You gotta use yer brain

Oh gods. You used to be good at math.

But HOW WILL KNOWING THE FIRST 23 DIGITS OF PI HELP YOU OUT HERE?

>gear: pick up a glass shard

There are no glass shards where you are.

>go back to the main mechanism room

You re-enter the MAIN MECHANISM ROOM.

>vow to NEVER LEAVE

Absolutely not. You REFUSE to die sober and alone!

>gear: Break a glass

There are no glasses in your current area.

>Octopi is octoπ. Maths. You gotta use yer brain

Doesn't sound as appealing as octopus pie, honestly.

...okay, that isn't really true. Octopus pie sounds like it’d take forever to chew.

>go back to the main mechanism room

>vow to NEVER LEAVE

Go back to where?

You are going to die in this building, but by all the gods that never listened, and those that never even existed-- you're going to do your best so you don't die sober and alone.

>gear: go back to the belfry

You climb back up the stairs, huffing and puffing as you do so. Wow, you're out of shape. (Then again, is that really your fault?)

You are back in the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY.

>gear: break a glass

>take shards

No need. There's the remains of your broken glass on the floor. You wrap a rag around ONE GLASS SHARD and place it in your pocket. If you're careful, it won't cut you.

>gear: rake shards

Who do you think you are? _Gammon?_

>gammon: tie your hair like Court

You, again, consider changing your hairstyle.

Twintails like the Master of the Court...

You have maybe five hours to live. You have absolutely nothing to lose.

...It feels weird. Now all the weight is on the sides of your head.

>take shards

What shards?

>gear: very, very carefully descend stairs. Pause at every step so you don't miss anything

You reach the top of the stairwell. Inhale. Exhale. Look down into the dark.

Here you go.

You walk down carefully. Very carefully. Partly so the glass shard in your pocket doesn't pierce your skin and partly so you can examine the steps for anything strange. Half of you is screaming that you need to go faster, you don't have time, the world is about to _end_, but that half of you has always always ALWAYS been the cause of all your mistakes, so for once in your miserable excuse of a life/death/undeath/afterlife you force yourself to SLOW DOWN and LOOK AT THINGS CAREFULLY.

You reach a section of stairs that looks different from the ones before it. Shaking, trembling, you put your weight on one of it, hear a _click_, and reel back like a scared deer.

Nothing.

Oh right! You disabled this trap! You sigh in relief, then continue your slow descent.

The pressure plates _click_ beneath your feet, but you force yourself to stay calm and keep your eyes on the floor. Nothing can be missed, and saving time is useless if you're dead.

Finally, once you reach a familiar slit in the wall, you see it, almost invisible unless it catches the light just right.

A tripwire.

>gear:cut tripwire.

You look nervously at the slit in the wall, seeing the pendulum sway back and forth.

How do you cut it? Should you really cut it when you're so close?

>save

No one's going to save you, o damned souls.

And anyway, you think you're beyond saving.

>CUT IT MOTHAFUCKA

Your hand moves to your pocket...

>okay wait don't

>this is not a good idea

...and pulls away from it. No, using the glass shard means you'd be too close to the wall slit when the wire breaks.

Is there another way to do what you want to do?

>play limbo

>how low can u go?

Not low enough to avoid becoming fillet.

>put your scarves on the step above the wire

Since when did you have scarves?

Okay, maybe back then, you had some, but now you don't.

>save

>CUT IT MOTHAFUCKA

What is there to save? Or cut?

...Your hair? No.

>gear: place a rag on the step above the tripwire

You undo one of your rags and place it down before the tripwire step.

>okay wait don't

>this is not a good idea

Yeah you aren’t not doing that.

>play limbo

>how low can u go?

Play limbo with what?

>put your scarves on the step above the wire

Wire?

>gear: carefully step over the wire

You can't leave this trap as it is. You and Gammon are going to be drunk in this tower, and the last thing you want is a terrible accident happening. (Even if you're going to die anyway. You kind of want to maximize your drinking time.)

>gear: fine okay cut the stupid thing

Hmm...

You put your hand on your chin in contemplation.

You think you've figured out what the trap is, and you don't want to be anywhere near it when it goes off.

You need to find a way to set it off from a distance.

>sn i p

You're working on it.

>i

You have:

A Very Amazing Bluetooth Onion (attached to your head)

Several rags (wrapped around your arms)

A bottle of isopropyl alcohol (in your right hand)

A wrench (in your left)

An bobbypin (in your right pocket)

A screwdriver (in your right pocket)

A glass shard wrapped in a rag (in your left pocket)

>sn i p

No!!!

>gear: tie all your rags together like a rope

>gear: how long is it?

You have to put the glass shard down and retrieve the one you placed on the step a moment ago to get all of them, but as you tie them together, it's as long as your right shoulder to the end of your left hand.

>i

You have:

-Back door key

-2 bottles of alcohol

-Fabric scissors

>yegaw

>yeehaw

Yeehaw you're getting bored here.

"How are the traps?" you ask. Right. You completely forgot about the Bluetooth Onion.

>gear: loop rag- rope around the wire and hold it's ends

>gear: maybe this will be enough distance

You draw in a sharp breath.

You have to be careful.

Very.

_Very._

Careful.

You gingerly thread the ragrope around the wire, giving it a LOT of slack. You stand up, carefully stepping back as far as you think you can go without breaking the wire.

You get around three steps up. Still close, but maybe it would be enough.

>yegaw

_What._

>yeehaw

"Yeehaw," you whisper back, thinking of what you're about to do.

>gear: pull

You brace yourself, and pull as hard as you can. Both to break the wire, and to put as much distance between yourself and the trap as possible.

You feel the wire snap, and with a loud **SHING**, the pendulum emerges from the slit and embeds itself in the wall with a crack.

You tug the rag-rope to yourself, wrapping it again around your sleeve as you try to get your racing heart to slow down.

Oh Levia, the pendulum is _huge_. It takes up the entire corridor now, making it impassable.

Well, at least it won't kill you.

>it just MIGHT.

Unless you graze yourself on it wrong and bleed to death, probably not.

You do have a new problem now. How are you going to get it back out of the way?!

>gear:return to mechanism room

>gear:use the crank

>gear: use the lever, krank

You place a hand on the cool metal of the pendulum, mind-boggled. The ticking of the clocktower has unnervingly come to a stop. That can't be, the clocktower has to keep working...

Suddenly, you get an idea.

You race back up the stairs and into the MECHANISM ROOM. You can see the PENDULUM stuck in one position, even from here. The HANDCRANK is waiting for you.

All traps must have a _RESET MECHANISM!_

You reach the HANDCRANK and start turning it. This time, you can feel the familiar resistance of mechanical torque as slowly, satisfyingly, the pendulum returns to its original position.

When it begins to sway once again, the ticking of the clocktower resuming, you know you've finished.

You think you're done here!

>fuck yeah!

>gear: descend stairs again. Carefully, just in case

"Traps are taken care of," you say to Gammon, chest swelling with pride. "I'm coming down."

You exit the MECHANISM ROOM, and shake yourself a bit to get your blood pumping. You don't remember any other traps, so now you have just a bit further to go.

You DESCEND further down the stairwell, now completely sure of its safety.

_ **Her soldiers dropped everything and snapped to attention as soon as they saw her enter. She walked past them without a glance, immediately seeking out her second-in-command and finding him at his desk. “My Führer!” he yelps, looking up from a map of Evillious. “Have you-”** _

“_**Is it ready?” she cut him off. **_

_ **He blinked. “What are you-?”  
** _

“_**Punishment,” she said, and his face grew pale. “Is it ready for deployment?”**_

“_**Erm, yes, my Führer,” he said. “As you have ordered. The agents are ready to mobilize whenever you wish. But where?”**_

_ **Nemesis looked down at the map, the whole world inscribed on a sheet of paper. She lay her palm on where the forest used to be. “Everywhere.”** _


	6. 2/13/19

You pat the sling on your back, making sure that the bottles remain securely in place. There is only one last obstacle between you and your goal. The door is just ahead.

You are in the BACK ENTRANCE LOBBY of the Clocktower. You have FIVE HOURS before the end.

>fart

You really hope that wasn't loud enough for Gammon to hear that.

>fart

Is this going to be the last fart of your entire existence? The possibility looms over you.

> Gammon: What is the obstacle?

The thing right in front of you. The door is locked. Gear did say he could open it from the other side, but you're getting tired of waiting...

>wait

You wait.

It's very dusty in here.

There's nothing interesting in the room except the door.

> Gear: Open the door

"What's the prob-?" you are about to ask, but then, you very quickly see the problem.

The door, clearly meant to open inwards, is barred. Three iron bars block the door, the mechanisms you see, while mechanical, also seem to be magical in nature, looking at their design.

>wait

You stare at the door.

You suddenly realized that you’ve been feeling a bit... off... since you entered the room.

>gammon: how interesrting is the doord

There are shapes etched into the metal surface, and below them you see raised panels-- buttons?

>kiss door

It's not _that_ kind of door, thank the gods.

>x buttons. pattern?

There are no buttons in this room.

>poke door

You poke the door. Nothing but wood and metal.

"I see the problem," you say, softly.

>kiss door

The metal is cold.

The door does not open.

>x buttons. pattern?

Squares in a four by four grid-- that would make sixteen of them.

"Problem?"

>gammon: poke buttons

You poke one-- the second one on the first row.

It sinks into the door and springs back up when you release the pressure.

The button turns red.

"...What kind of lock does this door have?"

"A magical one," you say.

You suddenly realize that wasn't exactly helpful.

"I can't dismantle the lock from here, you're going to have to unlock it from your side."

>bang on the door

You knock on the door. It's thick and solid. No kicking down this one.

>bang on the door

You knock on the door from your side as well.

Well, that isn't going to get you guys anywhere.

"Alright, let's see then..."

>examine the door and it's surroundings

> What's on the buttons

There's nothing on the buttons. Above them, however, three shapes are etched into the surface-- circles and lines. You wonder if they mean anything.

> Examine the three shapes closely

You do so.

>examine the door and it's surroundings

The BACK LOBBY is a SMALL SQUARE ROOM. In front of you, there is a DOOR barred with a MAGIMECHANICAL LOCK. Next to it is a SQUARE PICTURE FRAME. On the wall to your RIGHT is a CIRCULAR PICTURE FRAME. On the wall BEHIND YOU is the CLOCKTOWER STAIRWAY from which you came, and also a DIAMOND-SHAPED PICTURE FRAME. On the wall to your LEFT is a TEARDROP-SHAPED PICTURE FRAME, as well as a WALL-MOUNTED WOODEN CLOSET.

And finally, you notice RUNES WRITTEN ON ALL FOUR WALLS, surrounding you.

> Collect all four picture frames

What frames?

>gear: examine picture frames

This is the one in front of you.

This is the one to your right.

This is the one behind you.

This is the one to your left.

>try to shift letters

>press SEXY

What letters?

> Collect all four picture frames

You try, but they're stuck to the wall.

>after picking up square picture frame align it with the square engraving

What frames???

>after picking up square picture frame align it with the square engraving

It's stuck to the wall.

And what engraving?

>try to shift letters

You can't exactly shift the letters anywhere.

> Gear: Communicate to Gammon what the letters are

"There's a bunch of strange picture frames here with letters in four-by-four grids..." you say, tracing one of them. "Does that help?"

>gammon: tell gear what the engravings on your side are

"Hey, there are grids here too."

You almost didn't notice the faint lines behind the darker markings. "On top of them are these symbols made of circles and lines. Some circles in circles. Do they mean anything?"

> Gammon: Communicate to Gear what the markings are and have him examine the corresponding letters to form a word(?)

Which symbol first?

> Circle first

You examine the circular picture frame again. "I have a picture frame here that looks like a circle, but all I see inside are letters.”

>the one that looks like steam icon

Nothing here looks steamy at all.

You ARE feeling a bit strange, but that has nothing to do with the ambient temperature... you think.

> Circle first

>the one that looks like steam icon

Steam?

"Circle. Okay, there's a circle outline here too." You trace your finger over the symbol. "Dot in a hollow circle in C1-- uh, I mean, first row third column. Starting top left. That connects to a hollow circle in D1-- Dora, I mean Dora, first row fourth column-- you're getting this, right?"

>It's probably just anxiety resulting from your imminent and inevitable death. It's fine. You're fine.

Over the years, you have become very familiar with anxiety. Especially the anxiety you're feeling right now.

But this... this is different.

It feels... _cold._

_Unpleasant._

Almost _familiar._

But for the life of you, you can't remember _why._

"I... I think so," you say, shaking yourself back to reality.

"That's... R. For the first one. E for the second one. Right next to each other, correct?"

>It's probably just anxiety resulting from your imminent and inevitable death. It's fine. You're fine.

>Always look on the bright side of death~

Yeah you'll be fine. You're gonna go and make these last-- how many hours? five?-- you're gonna make sure you go out in the best way possible.

The weight of the alcohol on your shoulders reassures you.

"R and E, got it. After that it connects to A-- Anton 2, that's a hollow circle again, then Dora 4. Filled in circle. Over."

>respira

What?

>Always look on the bright side of death~

You're trying. Honest to gods, you're trying.

You're not doing very well.

>respira

_What._

"You don't need to say over," you mutter, tracing over the grid. "I'm not a soldier."

A cog in the machine, yes, but still not a soldier.

Your finger stops over the letters. "That's an M. Then a..." You squint a little. It's a bit hard to make out. "Another R..? No. It's a B. B for bom-" You inhale sharply. "Boy. B for Boy."

"R E M B. Richard Emil Marie Bruno," you repeat. You don't know if it means anything, but it's your only lead.

You nod, despite the fact that Gammon can't see you. "That's it on this end."

> Do the tear drop picture frame next

You wander to the other side of the room. "Do you have another one shaped like a teardrop?" you ask. No wonder no one used this entrance. This was getting pretty convoluted....

> Do the tear drop picture frame next

"Yeah, I do, here." You examine the symbol in the teardrop

"All of these are filled in circles. Starting from the top row... C1, Dora 1, Bruno 3, Anton 4, Anton 2. Right then down and left then up."

>V o i d

This cold feeling... this _empty_ feeling...

You've felt it before, have you?

Shuddering, you put it out of your mind. You're already missing half of Gammon's instructions.

"Uh..." you say, intelligently. "Can you... repeat that...?"

You say, after an awkward pause, "Over...?"

> Gammon: "DEAHN"

You cough. Maybe you should tie a scarf over your nose-- oh, but that might muffle your voice...

>V o i d

Void.

>Gammon: "there are so many letters good thing you taught me the alphabet"

"Sorry, I'll repeat-- Cäsar 1, Dora 1-- that's the top right corner--, Bruno 3, Anton 4, Anton 2."

You breathe in and out, ignoring the hollowness in your chest. "That's... D for Dog, E, A, H… wait..." You blink. "then... T. Huh."

Something seems weird about those letters.

> ==>

"D E A H T. Got it." That's... almost a word. Should it be a word?

>it spells death?

It hits you with a jolt. "Oh," you say. "Do you see it too?"

Well. THAT'S just pleasant.

>it spells death?

"Death...?"

Suddenly you wonder if it was a warning. There were traps in there, weren't there?

"Hey, but if that was a word, what was with the circle one-- REMB? BERM?"

"REMB... BERM..." you echo, the words floating around in your head. Saying those out loud brings you closer and closer to a flashpoint, a moment of enlightenment, but you just can't seem to knock it loose.

>time to do the square one

You stride over to the door a bit faster than you care to admit. "How about a square?" you say.

>time to do the square one

"I... don't have a square? There is one more symbol, though. It's in a diamond." Perhaps...

>gammon: you gotta flip it turnways

"Would... tilting the diamond work?"

>or use the diamond, if there is one on both sides

"Yeah, there's a diamond here too," you say, heading for the back of the room.

>gammon: Maybe tilting the grid to align with the diamond and then tilting it to make a square?

>gammon: So like. C3, A2, C2, D4

>gammon: or A1, B3, D3, B2

You tilt your head, trying to work out a tilted grid. "I could... try turning--"

>or use the diamond, if there is one on both sides

"Ah! Okay, never mind." You straighten up. "Diamond... Top right-- Dora 1, Bruno 2, Bruno 4, Caesar 2. All filled circles."

You squint a little, drumming your fingers against the frame in an attempt to distract yourself from that odd feeling."That's a U, O, Y, and R. Have you figured out what those circles mean, yet?

>"Y-o-u-r?"

"U O Y R... 'Your?'" Two words. "Your death. R E M B--"

...Huh.

>"Y-o-u-r?"

You never liked anagrams. Numbers were more your thing. A final cruelty, with the end of the world nearing, that they have come to torment you once again.

"Is it a message?" you ask.

>the empty circles spell out "EM", the empty one with a dot just "R"

>Indicating the first word? " Remember your death?"

>How cheery

"It's coming together, hold on--" You start talking out loud.

"The empty circles are E and M, and the dotted empty one is R... REMEMBER. That's it. 'Remember your death'. That's... that's just great." You remember your coming doom just fine.

>"I always was good at counting, compared to remembering the 23 letters of alphabet"

Not really....?

>the empty circles spell out "EM", the empty one with a dot just "R"

>Indicating the first word? " Remember your death?"

>How cheery

You can't see the symbols Gammon's talking about, but you think... even with that incomplete word...

Isn't _that_ an appropriate mood setter.

>"I always was good at counting, compared to remembering the 23 letters of alphabet"

Why would the last puzzle you ever do involve godsdamned _anagrams? _Why couldn't it have been a magic square or something? You LOVED those as a kid! Can't you enjoy something in the last 4.5 hours of your life that doesn't involve drinking yourself senseless?

"I remember my death," you find yourself saying. "It was slow, and painful, and I had it coming. These picture frames don't need to tell me that. Can we just get that door open already?"

>examine the door again

You've looked at it, but you don't think you're going to discover anything new.

>examine the door again

You don’t know how to respond to that, so you just focus on trying to unlock the door.

Three symbols-- which apparently, mean REMEMBER YOUR DEATH-- in a row, etched into the metal, and under them a four by four grid of buttons. One of them, the one you pressed, is red.

>which one is red

Position B1, by the system you've been using. You chose it at random.

>which one is red

There's nothing in this room that's red...?

>gear: you could always calculate the angular velocity of the clocktower gears, or recite the periodic table backwards or something. That will be fun!

You already have.

A couple thousand times.

Hey, it's not like you had much to do, being trapped in the clocktower and all.

>uh

>say "Remember your death" out loud, then try the door?

"Remember your death," you murmur. Nothing happens.

"Remember your death," you say, a bit louder.

...

Nothing happens.

Ugh.

>uh

>say "Remember your death" out loud, then try the door?

"Remember your death," you say back. The door does not change. Not that you expected it to.

>gammon: press C1 in the circle?

Circle? You press in the middle of the node.

Nothing. It's a design etched in the metal, and... if it's magical, you don't know how to operate it.

>try bippity boppity boo

Try what?

>try bippity boppity boo

You try an incantation that made Eve nearly fall out the wagon laughing the first time you said it.

It doesn't work either.

>gammon: look around again. Do you see any squares anywhere

You look around the whole room.

Lots of dust, but no new symbols, no squares-- only the buttons.

>gammon: press buttons at random see if b1 is the only one that turns red

You randomly press buttons, desperate for something to happen.

Every time you first press a button, it turns red. The second press turns it green. The third press turns it yellow. The fourth turns it back to normal.

You reset all the buttons and lean back, thinking.

>a b a b left right

Huh?

>punch the door

In partial frustration you punch the door.

Have you learned _nothing?!_

You have to stop yourself from letting out a rather undignified whine at your sore fist.

>a b a b left right

_What._

>gammon: press the buttons with empty circles. See if they act different?

You press D1 and A2. Nothing seems to happen...?

>Gammon: press the buttons so it spells out "Remember your death" according to the corresponding letters on Gears side

That's a lot of letters.

Still, it's the best shot you have. "Hey, there's one more frame there, right? The one you said was square? What letters does it have?"

You blink. "Uh..."

>Gammon: press the buttons so it spells out "Remember your death" according to the corresponding letters on Gears side

"I'm thinking... maybe it corresponds with this keypad here. Can we spell Remember Your Death on it?"

You try and spell it out on the grid, but shake your head. Then you realize that Gammon still can't see you.

"No, there's no B."

>The word fire is in there

In where?

>The word fire is in there

"You can spell fire with this grid though..." you say.

Somehow, you don't think that's helpful.

>can you spell "remember" with the circular grid and its corresponding buttons?

Huh? So, copy this pattern onto the keypad?

>can you spell "remember" with the circular grid and its corresponding buttons?

Unfortunately, you're not the one with the control panel, Gammon is.

You're pretty sure he can spell it out since he's the one with the symbol.

>gammon: Hmm maybe press once is hollow circle press twice is circle with dot and three times is fully blac

You copy the symbol, pressing once for the hollow circle, twice for the dotted circle, and thrice for the filled circles.

Nothing happens. Hmm…


	7. 2/14/19

>do the worm

You can't fall to despair now with the goal in sight!

>do the worm

You wiggle your body like a worm. It does not bring you any startling revelations.

>receive startling revalation

You realize that you're going to die right here, sober and alone, unless one of you has a more startling revelation.

>receive startling revalation

To all the gods that exist and the ones that never did, the ones that hate you and the ones that pretend they don't, you appeal for help, for you to be freed of one of the last problems you'll ever face...

Nothing happens. This is not very startling.

>gammon: Hmm maybe press twice for hollow circle press thrice for circle with dot and once for fully black

Well, best work with what you already have. You change your input to better reflect the number of letters each dot represented in the circle clue.

Still, nothing happens. Hmm...

> Gammon: press at half-depth for the circle with a dot, one-fourth-depth for the hollow circle and full-depth for the fully black circles

Pressing half-depth doesn't do anything. You don't see the point.

> Gammon: Tap then press for the circle with the dot, just tap(?) the ones with the hollow circle and press once the fully black ones

You play around with input methods, but it doesn't seem to do anything... Only pressing it all the way seems to register, and press length doesn't seem to matter.

>HAP VALENTINE'S

Huh?

>HAP VALENTINE'S

_What._

> Gammon: Spell "punishment"

If it's your death you need to remember, then maybe...?

"Hey, can I spell 'Punishment' with the letters there?"

You look at the square frame again. "No, there's no P. What are we even supposed to spell with these, anyway?"

>what are the letters again?

"If I knew, I wouldn't be on this side of the door," you grumble, straightening up to re-examine the symbols. 'REMEMBER YOUR DEATH'... That's what you decoded from them.

> Gear: Bring up the letters on your side of the door

>what are the letters again?

You take a good look at the square frame again. "Do you want me to give you the letters?"

"...Yes please," you say. What do you have to lose?

You sigh. "Alright, I'll go from right to left, top row downwards. L, E, C..."

As you recite, you hope some of Gammon's military training of his can visualize everything you're saying. As you read, you think over the words you've decoded.

_Remember Your Death._

Was that a hint of some kind? Maybe it was? There had to be a reason why those panels and frames were there, right?

You hope it wasn't just Ma being a sadist.

> Gammon: spell "mich"

You trace each and every letter on the buttons as Gear reads them to you, trying to commit it to memory. As you do so, you notice that the sequence you copied from the circle clue spells "MICH" on this one-- or rather, "MMMICCHH".

...Does that mean anything?

>gammon: spell 'sty,' bc ur kind of in one rn l o l

You tap S, T, and Y for no reason.

...Well, it's because you're stuck.

>is it one word per line?

>or numerous other words?

The letters in front of you look like meaningless alphabet soup.

By the gods, you _hate_ word games.

>gammon: try to spell "michaela"

Mich... You extend it into a name, and remove the unnecessary letters. "MICHELLE"? Nothing.

..."MICHAELA"? Whoever that actually was.

No dice.

>is it one word per line?

>or numerous other words?

What line?

>.....eat it

_Eat what now???_

>.....eat it

You're pretty sure everything on you right now can kill you if you swallow it. You're not inclined to do that.

>if you eat it you can remember your death faster u stupid FOOL

You remember your death just fine, thank you very much!

It's still such a weird concept to you, dying yet still... _being._

It's weird. To remember your own mortality like that.

>if you eat it you can remember your death faster u stupid FOOL

You kind of don't want to speed up your doom. It's coming in a few hours. No need to rush.

>what happens when we align the square picture frame letters the control panel?

>also what does it spell

Align? You've already taken note of how each button corresponds to each letter on the square frame...

And what does what spell?

>you can spell 'venom', so try that, gammon

You realize you can spell "venom" with the letters given to you and you involuntarily wretch a little.

That might not be the password. Venom was an awful substance but you doubt it has anything to do with "Remembering Your Death".

>what happens when we align the square picture frame letters the control panel?

Gammon already seems to have made the assumption that whatever panel is on his side matches up with the letters in the square picture frame on this side.

The trouble is just figuring out what to input...

"What does ‘Remember Your Death’ mean?" you say, frustrated.

>TYPE 'HEMATOXYLINS' and CRY

You can't type anything from this side.

You _do_ start tearing up a little at your predicament though. That odd feeling doesn't help either.

>do you use ALL THE LETTERS?

All you have to go on is "Remember Your Death". You're beginning to get a headache.

For all you know, you don't need all the letters, and maybe there could be repeat letters.

>eyy gammon gammon ey gammon gammon SWING

You resist the urge to fill the air with idle chatter. Gammon's probably concentrating.

>you can spell 'venom', so try that, gammon

>gammon: spell 'venom' and think of food

You repeat the placements of the letters to yourself, thinking of words that could be relevant...

Venom? You input that on a whim. Nothing.

>TYPE 'HEMATOXYLINS' and CRY

What about.... You enter something you aren't even sure is a word.

Nothing happens. You're not even sure you got the placements right, and you don't want to ask again for a nonsense word.

>do you use ALL THE LETTERS?

>eyy gammon gammon ey gammon gammon SWING

You restrain yourself from taking a swing at the keypad and try to think. What could Remember Your Death have to do with anything...

You just end up turning all the buttons to red, just to see what it looks like.

>try spelling eve

Your fingers trail over the letters in the frame, and you laugh. Or sob. At this point, it's hard to tell the difference.

She's gone. Lost. Dead.

You remember her death, remember your own death.

You remember your mortality.

You remember that, even now, you are still capable of dying.

You remember that you WILL die.

You hold your face in your hands and groan.

>try spelling eve

Is Gear okay over there?

You don't really want to ask.

You try a few more random combinations that don't yield anything.

>gammon: spell 'eve no fart'

What are you, twelve?

...

You're not, but you're out of ideas. You try it.

It doesn't work.

>type "Forest Fire"

>type 'memento mori'

You can't type anything from here but...

A phrase comes to mind, as you realize the abyss that looms beyond the clocktower. An old phrase, one you haven't heard in centuries.

"Gammon..." you begin. "Gammon, do you know a phrase, it started with ‘Memento-’"

>type "Forest Fire"

Death? Perhaps...

That didn't work.

>type 'memento mori'

Remember Your Death... that isn't a new saying, isn't it?

"Memento mori? I'll try--" you say but you're already typing it in. M, E, M...

You can hear Gammon finish typing, and for a moment, nothing, but then...

You can almost SEE the mechanism glowing, rather, you can _feel_ the thrum of magic around the door getting stronger, waking from a long slumber, the gears slowly starting to turn...

And suddenly, the runes around you _shine_, that empty feeling within you growing as the magimechanical lock suddenly slows to a halt.

No... Oh _no_...

You look around wildly, running to a wall and examining a rune more closely.

You _know_ these.

You haven't seen them since fleeing Levianta, but you've never forgotten how they made you feel, how they made _Eve_ feel. She _hated_ them. She once described the feeling of being around them as feeling like she was rotting from the inside out, like her very soul is dying little by little. It never got that bad for you, but of course Eve got the worst of it, because...

These are anti-magic runes. As long as they're here, the door cannot open.

You fight the urge to scream.

"What's happening?"

You think you heard something. Did you get it? What was the problem?

>set the runes on FIRE

You can't! You look closely at the runes and...

Are they written in_ ink?!_

>......

>..............

>.................KICK THEM

You kick the wall in frustration, and immediately yelp in pain.

"The walls!" you cry. "Ma drew anti-magic runes all over the walls!"

>set the runes on FIRE

>......

>..............

>.................KICK THEM

What??

"Can you remove them?" Lord, if you came all this way just to be stopped at this point...

Well, the booze is with you. But that would be a shame when Gear is _right there._

"I...." you think, frantically.

Do you have anything on you now that can get them off?

>scrub them off

With what?

>scrub them off

"Scrub them off maybe? Are they drawn? Carved?" If they were carved, you're probably fucked. You really hope not.

>take off one of Gammon's scarves, put alcohol on it, use that

>tear off a part of your sleeve

>remove scarf

>put alcohol on scarf

>scrub runes off with alcohol-drenched scarf

>try not to die from removing scarf.

Unfortunately you are on the wrong side of the door to be doing any of this!

>take off one of Gammon's scarves, put alcohol on it, use that

>tear off a part of your sleeve

>remove scarf

>put alcohol on scarf

>scrub runes off with alcohol-drenched scarf

>try not to die from removing scarf.

>gear: take off your vest. put alcohol on it. scrub

>gear: SET THE RUNES ON FIRE WITH THE ALCOHOL

"They're drawn," you say, thanking the gods that you brought along that ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL. If you're correct about what Ma used to write it in...

You don't have a scarf, but you do have your RAGS. Unrolling it from your sleeve, you drench it in alcohol and immediately start scrubbing at the wall.

To your immense relief, the rune smudges, and eventually comes right off.

One down...

You look over the runes, faintly glowing in the dim light.

You inhale, exhale, then roll up your sleeves and get to work.

As you scrub away, that empty feeling slowly fades with the runes. You wish you could've done this a long time ago, but you were pretty sure they were all carved or engraved and definitely not written in _**permanent marker.**_

When you get the last of them, the thrum of magic in the room swells. And finally, satisfyingly, the bars withdraw and vanish.

The door is unlocked.

>OPEN THE DOOR

"Sorry about that,” you mutter sheepishly as you hold the door open for Gammon. “I had to stop being Gear and start being Janitor-" You stop, and take a good look at him. “What did you do with your hair?”

"One of the last new things I’ll ever try,” you say, busying yourself with the knot of your makeshift sling. The weight on the sides of your head feels very strange, but… you already look like a fool, might as well be a decisive one. “And who cares about job titles at this point. I got the stuff,_ let's go, please,_"

"Right..." you say, shutting the door. If Gammon wanted to go out looking like a dark purple Ev- a dark purple Court, it was none of your business. "Four hours left...” you sigh. “How much did you get?"

"Two bottles. Hope that's enough. Wish we'd thought to bring a bag."

Would’ve saved you quite a bit of time too. You unroll the canvas on the floor, revealing the goods.

You take a bottle, and examine it closely.

It's absinthe, and the oddly familiar blue-green shade of the liquor makes your stomach turn. Blinking rapidly, you make a show of examining the label closely, partly to hide your face from Gammon.

It has a proof of about 180. Enough to get you drunk in one shot. More than enough to wreck your throat with one sip.

"No, I think this is fine," you say. "The real problem would be keeping me alive before our four hours are up, because I'm going to be chugging this straight from the bottle."

You think you have gone completely mad.

Oh _damn._ You never took a close look at those, did you?

"Alright," you declare, considering the bottle-- and after a second of thought, sinking one blade of your scissors into the cork. This should do.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get _wasted._"

You're already trying to to wrench the bottle open with your hands, rather ineffectually.

"I’m already on it," you grumble, giving up and motioning for the scissors.

“Hold on a sec,” you mutter. These things are sharp, and unlike a regular corkscrew, you have to be careful not to cut yourself on the second blade. Carefully, you pry the cork out of your bottle.

“Are we drinking right here, or upstairs?”

You take the scissors from him and twisting the cork out of your own bottle. “The table’s upstairs, but-” It comes off with a satisfying _pop_, and you shove the doubly-corked scissors in your pocket as you raise the bottle in a toast. “Doesn’t mean we can’t start here.”

You then knock it back, taking a large gulp.

You regret it immediately.

Tears fall from your eyes as your throat burns from the absinthe, and you choke and cough, making a mess of yourself. You wipe your mouth with your sleeve, arm shaking as you try very very hard not to make eye contact with Gammon.

“Let’s go up,” you say as if nothing happened, your voice raspy.

You clink your bottle against his and drink as well--

Good _gods_, that was strong! The drink traces a bitter line of fire all the way down. You’re unable to suppress a cough, and a drop ends up in your nose. _Fuck that hurts._

You never want to do this again, but guess if there ever was a time to be drinking absinthe undiluted….

“Yeah, let’s go,” you say, turning to the stairwell.

You begin to ASCEND the staircase, spiraling upwards and upwards. Already, your head feels a bit cloudy, steps not as sure as they were before. You see Gammon trail behind you, hair still done in those twintails, and you consider taking another sip.

Maybe not now, not while you’re still on stairs. You could fall.

“It’s pretty strong, right,” you say, trying to break the silence between you, even though the clocktower is anything but silence. “It hurts to drink it neat. How do you usually drink absinthe again? In sherbets? A sherbet would be nice. Do you think we can find shaved ice anywhere?”

A part of you realizes that you’re already babbling. The rest of you doesn’t care.

“Diluted with water and sugar, as far as I know.” There were fancy spoons and fountains for it too, but you didn’t pay much attention to them.

Your voices echo in the stairwell and fail to fill the space. It’s strangely reassuring to feel so small, especially in the face of the swiftly approaching end.

You ASCEND, past the slit in the wall where the pendulum still waits, past the pressure plates that go _click-click-click_ beneath your feet. It suddenly occurs to you just how absurd everything is, as you finally reach the CLOCKTOWER BELFRY. You have just spent three out of the seven hours the world has left running around the clocktower trying not to get maimed or worse. You have a badly-painted spring onion tied to your head, Gammon’s following you with your lost wife’s hairdo, and you’re already tipsy on stuff that, even in college, you didn’t dare touch with foot-long tongs and gloves that go up to your elbows.

At any other time, this would be an exciting caper. Daring. Fraught with danger. And against all odds, you managed to pull it off. But you can’t even feel proud of yourself, because soon, in four hours time, _nothing_ will matter.

This really is nothing but a massive farce, isn’t it?

You wave Gammon over to the table, with its single lonely glass. “That one’s yours. Had to break mine.” You take another sip. In your imagination, it’s already starting to burn less. “I always end up breaking things… story of my life...”

You don’t know how to respond to that, so you pour yourself a glass. The green liquid looks eerie in the light of the moon. You wonder if this was something you could have found in the outside world, or something more exotic-- could it be a unique blend suited only for the Master of the Graveyard’s tastes?

Suppose it doesn’t matter. Even if it kills you, it’s probably going to get you dead drunk first.

You sip from the glass, more prepared for the burn this time. It feels purifying, almost. The bitter aftertaste lingers in the back of your throat, but it’s clean, nothing like the metaphorical aftertaste of regrets.

There’s nothing left for you or for anyone else. There’s nothing that matters, at this point, The four hours you have left… they belong to you and you alone. It’s a little twisted, but you think that’s something worth appreciating.

You raise your glass. “Cheers.”

You have four hours before the end.

You wonder faintly where you’d be, if you had spent the millions of hours before any differently.

Raising your bottle, you laugh weakly. “Cheers.”

“_**My Führer!”**_

_ **General Hymn, her only remaining officer, strained against his binds to no avail. “My Führer!" he screamed. "I cannot allow you to do this!”** _

“_**Are you questioning my orders, General?” she said, her voice soft.**_

**“_I am _more_ than questioning! This… this is _insanity!_ This will not win the war, but end the world!” Hymn’s eyes bulged in fear. “My Führer, I beg of you, _please_, rescind your orders, for the sake of the Party, for the sake of Elphegort-”_**

_ **He stopped, as she pressed the muzzle of her revolver against his forehead. ** _

“_**General,” she said to him. “This was never about the war.”**_

_ **She fired her last round, and the man fell limp in his chair. She turned away from him without a second thought. It had taken a few hours, and more than a few bullets, but everything was finally ready. It was time.** _

**She approaches the black box on the table.**

**It has a keyhole in its center.**

**The Golden Key lies in the palm of her hand.**

**Her head pounds. She steps forward.**

**She inserts the key, turns it..**

**Then everything is gone.**

Lu Li La...

Lu Li La...

** Thank you for playing. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> public service announcement: do not chug absinthe. just don't  
that aside, we're done! happy fifth anniversary to the muzzle of nemesis album  
special thanks to ikasan's covers of nuyuri and eve songs for getting me through editing, and to you for coming with us the whole way! cheers!!  
-Ethyl
> 
> Honestly, the best part about doing all this (besides collaborating with Ethyl, which was great fun) is that incredible feeling of _oh my god, I actually finished a project. I'm so fucking happy._  
I would like to thank Ethyl, for coming up with the text game jam idea in the first place; my past self, for agreeing to do it; Mothy, who wrote the multimedia Vocaloid fanfic that inspired all of this; and finally, to you, if you've made it this far. The link to the Discord where this game happened is here, if you're looking for a place to talk about EC: <https://discord.gg/xsPYtWb>  
Thank you for reading, and Happy 5th Anniversary to Master of the Hellish Yard!  
(And remember, always drink responsibly!)  
-Kat


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